Sarah is driven as a candidate by 12 years of working for social equity, and seeing the well being of communities and individuals overlooked by governments or sold to private corporations for the short-term, financial benefit of the elite. The gap between the world’s majority working poor and the minority affluent has widened to its breaking point, and conflicts resulting from the struggle for basic well being continue to rise.
The outdated neoliberal capitalist system is at the root of the systemic collapse, as it’s built on short-term gain for few and on the destruction of its very inputs: people and natural resources. We no longer have the luxury of politics being about politicians. We need effective managers who are accountable to the well being of taxpayers who fund the economy and who have the right to live and thrive.
Sarah is dedicated to the implementation of new economic systems such as stakeholder and circular economics that create diversified, resilient, long-term, equitable economies that can address current global and local circumstances. To guide the local transition in Nova Scotia, Sarah looks to evidence-based research and other countries that demonstrate strong performance economically and in quality of life. Reactive approaches to governance are far more costly to taxpayers than proactive ones (ex: adequate health care vs. emergency health care). There is no shortage of evidence on this topic, and Sarah looks to dispel any remaining myth that an economy must benefit the wealthy, and in order to function, bail out major corporations at the cost of the general public.
It is the very investment in public services and local businesses that allows an economy to prosper in the short and long-term. No environmental issue is only an environmental issue – they’re at the interface of exploitative political and economic systems based on over-extraction. It is the very core importance of natural resources and the environment that has brought them central to public debate. The environment is not a separate entity – the earth is where we live and we currently do not have any method to survive without its function.
Increasing impacts on and destruction of agricultural crops alone (ex: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/heat-fruit-crops-okanagan-fraser-valley-1.6092155) should be reason enough to catalyze urgent action. While the current picture seems daunting, resolutions to an existing and prosperous future leave much to look forward to. Sarah would look forward to contributing to a sustainable, prosperous, progressive Nova Scotia. Sarah holds a BSc in Geography and a Master of Resource and Environmental Management with a focus on social justice.
She has a demonstrated passion and expertise for working with mixed-stakeholder groups through community engagement and capacity-building, and has managed projects for organizations such as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the World Bank. She volunteers locally with social and environmental organizations, and in her spare time can be found playing music, spending time with friends and family, or enjoying outdoor adventures in Canada’s Ocean Playground.
Contact Sarah or her campaign team at sarah.weston@greenpartyns.ca